True Confessions
by Tsukiai Ujigami
Summary: Sakura is questioning her self-proclaimed place in squad 7. When on a mission to escort Iruka's distant relative safely to Konoha, an unexpected encounter leaves Sakura and team 7 with an open ended question: Where does she fall into place in the team?
1. A Gap in the Pannel

Hello Everyone! 

This here is Tsukiai Ujigami, here with my very first Fan Fict eva!

First I'll tell you to think of, in every Anime you've seen or Manga you've read; think of the damsel in distress or the hopeless girl that always needs a man to fight for her. 

Got it? 

Well I'm her. 

In every Anime I have watched I am nicknamed (by friends and little sister) that hopeless young girl who is only there to create conflict between the main male character and their worst enemy (doesn't say much about me, huh?). I have the nicknames of Azmaria Hendricks from Chrono Crusade, Winery Rockbell from Fullmetal Alchemist, Kagome Higorashi from Inuyasha and Sakura Haruno from Naruto (I think that's all of them...!).

But the name "Tsukiai Ujigami" comes from a story my friends, little sister and I are writing together (an anime based story of course, we have no life!). 

Tsukiai (pronounced; Sue-key-ah) is my character; the meek little teachers pet that wont do anything out of line. The word 'Tsukiai' is actually a Japanese word I found, meaning "Friendship", and her last name "Ujigami" (you-gee-ga-me) means Guardian spirit (What I would do without my Japanese dictionary, I'll never know!).

Jeeze! Have I taken up a third of the page already! I talk too much!

Anyway, getting to the story, I love the whole Sakura and Sasuke idea (not the way Sakura obsesses over him, god it shits me!), so I have written my own version on how I think it should be. 

I hope you enjoy!

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- True confessions –

Chapter 1: A gap in the panel

Quick footsteps ran across the grass, soon stopping as an oblivious eye looked out from its hiding place. Dead ahead stood a circle of 3 teens; one fair blond wearing an orange jumpsuit, one mysterious black wearing a blue high-necked t-shirt and white knee-length shorts and the last luscious pink wearing a long red kimono trimmed with white. 

The hidden eye brushed briefly upon the gleaming kunai held firmly in each teen's hand, and over the tall thin stick sticking out of the ground in the middle of their circle. 

The hands of the eye clapped quietly together in the form of a bizarre hand-sign, the mouth muttering a couple of choice words. The circle of teens looked forward as 7 puffs of smoke erupted from thin air at the edge of the forest clearing, and out of the white smoke came 7 masked men wearing green vests and dark blue pants.

The black haired teen mouthed something to the others, then his hands came together in his own hand-sign. 10 puffs of smoke later there were 10 clones of the dark haired male attacking the 7 masked men.

One by one the masked men disappeared in a wisp of smoke at a single strike from the dark haired clones. The dark haired male retracted his clones once the masked clones had been defeated, and then he stood back into the circle around the tall wooden stick.

The oblivious eye ran out of its hiding place, throwing ninja stars and kunai at the teens. The blond and the dark haired males hit back the weapons, using their own kunai. The enemy jumped over the blonds' head, but was knocked back as the dark haired male threw a kunai at his stomach. The pink haired girl winced, thinking that that course of action was too harsh, but was pulled away from these thoughts when the body of the struck enemy turned into a log; _the transformation jutsu_.

The pink haired girl yelled and ducked in fright as the real enemy jumped out and slashed at her with a kunai. He landed on the other side of the circle, stood up straight, turned his head to the teens and smiled.

"Game over." 

The teens looked at the centre of the circle, where the wooden stick still stood... 2 inches had been sliced off.

"DAMN!" the blond, formally known as Naruto, yelled, stamping his foot in rage.

"Not again!" the pink haired female, known as Sakura, groaned.

'I didn't even see him!' The dark haired male, going by the name of Sasuke, thought, burying his hands deep into his pockets and placing the usual scowl upon his lips.

Their Sensei Kakashi looked at them as he put his kunai back into its pouch, his smile hidden by his deep blue mask.

"I see you need a little more training." He remarked, his one visible eye looking into that of his students. 

He looked directly at the crimson female.

"Sakura…" he began, but paused. He sounded stern, like he was going to point out her faults. 

"… good work."

Sakura's heart sank. "Thanks Kakashi sensei."

His eye closed in the form of a smiled then he turned away, giving tips to Sasuke and Naruto. It was always like that. Kakashi never pointed out what she was doing wrong; he would just compliment her on not dying. God she felt pathetic. Every mission and practice session, she would just stand there and be rescued by Sasuke or Naruto. She never did any of the fighting; she just stood back and watched as the others completed the mission… like they didn't even need her.

"Let's all go out for Ramen, I think I've pushed you guys enough today." Kakashi announced, sending Naruto cheering and jumping up and down like something on Ecstasy. 

Sakura tried to look interested in her dinner that night, but failed miserably. She stared at the soggy noodles before her, prodding it with her chopsticks. 

Why did Kakashi treat her so differently? He was always treating her like she was the youngest of the group... when she was actually the oldest. She felt so useless.

"I think I'll give you all the day off tomorrow." Kakashi said, putting his chopsticks down next to his empty bowl. "Give you some time to rest."

Naruto looked up from his bowl, a fistful of Ramen dangling unattractively out of his mouth. "Rest... for what?" 

Sakura and Sasuke also took their eyes off their meals, interested in the rising conversation.

Kakashi leaned back in his chair. "I've been pushing you guys too hard lately... I think this'll be a great chance to rest yourselves."

Naruto leaned forward, his nose almost touching his Sensei's. "What's the catch?" he asked, eying him carefully.

Kakashi simply closed his eye gently. "No catch... just a day off."

Naruto sat back in his chair, still looking at Kakashi suspiciously; something was up, and he wanted to know what.

When everyone had finished their 2nd bowl of Ramen (and Naruto, his 5th), team 7 exited the restaurant into the calm breeze of Konoha.

"I shall leave you now, don't go tiring yourselves out tomorrow, ok? Get some rest." Kakashi instructed turning and leaving.

Naruto watched Kakashi walk away, waiting till he was out of earshot. Once he was sure of it, he turned to his teammates. "Did any of you two think it odd how Kakashi just gave us a day off for no apparent reason?"

"There was a reason stupid. He said we needed rest, that's all." Sakura yawned, stretching her arm muscles.

"But none of us are worn out! There has to be a catch!" he continued, hitting the palm of his hand with his fist. "He wouldn't just give us a day off like this, there _has _to be something else to it!"

Sakura's eyes drooped, her heart giving up on the fight she usually enjoyed. "Whatever, think what you want Naruto. I'm going home."

She turned and started to walk the path back to her house, oblivious of Naruto and Sasuke's following eyes.

"What's up with her? She would've usually started attacking me by now, physically or verbally." Naruto remarked quietly.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed. 'She's been acting distant since the last practice session today.' he thought, watching the last glimpse of her fade into the dark of the night.

Sakura's feet led her leisurely up the moon-lit path, the wind playing with her long cherry pink hair. Her hand rest upon the doorknob to her house, and she entered quietly.

"Hi honey." He mother greeted from the dishes in the kitchen.

Sakura looked up at her mum, placing a fake smile upon her face. "Hi."

She placed her shoes neatly at the door and hurried up the stairs to her room, avoiding further conversation.

She dropped her bag to the ground and collapsed onto her bed, her mind racing.

Sasuke and Naruto always seemed to be moving forward… but not as far as they could. They seemed to hold back, not wanting to move forward just yet. Sakura couldn't figure out why; why they didn't live up to their dreams and give it their all; prove how strong they could be. Some suspicion inside of her told her that it was her presence that slowed them down, that they wanted to encourage her… almost dare her to keep up.

"Why bother anymore?" Sakura said quietly, rolling onto her stomach and resting her chin on her pillow. "I try so hard everyday, and I've pushed past my limits more than once before. But… no matter how hard I try, the boys always seem to be two steps ahead of me."

She buried her head into her pillow. "I might as well give up and take the duty I've tried to avoid all this time; the luggage transporter."

Sakura awoke to the fresh smell of Konoha, and the tranquil sound of the birds within. She sat up and rubbed her head, realizing she had slept in her clothes again.

After a quick breakfast of plain rice and freshly squeezed juice, Sakura cleaned herself up, put on some tight dark-teal jeans, a pink shoulder-slit t-shirt, tanned-cream sandals and a white backpack then headed out into the morning air.

Not sure where she was going, she decided to visit the market.

Stalls of all different shapes, sizes and materials filled the center of Konoha; different sounds smells and colures surrounding them. Food, cosmetics, clothes, hand crafted weapons; it was all for sale!

Sakura smiled as the loud chatter of happy villagers became louder as she strode into the moving mess. She moved from stall to stall, admiring the craftsmanship of hand made jewelry, weapons and figurines. 

She stopped at a stall that was covered with good luck charms and gem stones. She picked up a pendant that was a small twig of flowers. The petals were glistening with pink stained glass; the stem a deep green. She turned the ornament over in her hand, noting every elegant detail. 

"It's a prosperity charm" said an elderly woman from behind the stall bench. "Said to bring bad times to an end for the wearer." 

Sakura looked up and smiled. "Do you make these yourself?"

The woman smiled back. "Yes I do, with great time and patients."

"They're all so beautiful." Sakura complimented, looking back at the flower in her hand.

The woman smiled again. "How's bout I drop the price on that for you? I'll give it to you for $5.00."

Sakura looked up. "Are you sure?"

The woman nodded. "I think it'll go good with a lovely girl like you."

Sakura smiled, handing a $5:00 note to the woman. "Thank you."

She turned and left the stall, the pendant placed safely around her neck by a black leather rope. She smiled as she faced the busy crowd of people; her spirits were rising already.

Suddenly an orange blur rushed past Sakura's view.

She turned and saw Naruto, running madly through the mass crowds of the market.

'Good feeling gone.' Inner Sakura groaned. "What's he up to?"

Sakura ran after her teammate, apologizing to all those she pushed past on the way. Naruto looked to be in a real hurry!

Suddenly he jumped onto the roof of a building and continued from the rooftops. Sakura jumped also, trying not to hit anything as she landed on the roof and jump after him. She smiled as Naruto sped up; this was getting interesting.

Naruto looked back and saw the kunoichi chasing him. He smiled competitively and went a little faster.

'If I can catch up and stop him, there's still a chance of me becoming stronger.' She encouraged herself. She sped up, giving it her all.

Ahead, Naruto could see her desire to catch up to him; the game was on. He clapped his hands together and yelled: "Shadow Clone Jujitsu!" creating 6 clones of himself that ran in a straight line next to him.

'Heh, you can't fool me _that _easily!' Sakura thought. She pulled out 6 ninja stars, aiming carefully. 'The middle one is the real one!' She threw the stars at the 6 Naruto's either side of the middle (and real) Naruto.

"Gotcha now!" she yelled.

The ninja stars hit the 6 Naruto's, puffs of smoke erupting from each one that got hit.

"OW!"

Sakura stopped and looked up, gasping as two Naruto's remained; one bending over the other that was on the ground clutching his left knee.

Sakura gasped again; she'd hit the real Naruto.

Naruto groaned as Sakura ran over, kneeling down next to him. "Are you alright!"

He pulled the ninja star out of the back of his leg. "Yeah, but what'd ya hit me for!"

Sakura hung her head. "Sorry, lost control of myself." She pulled her bag off her back and rummaged around for a bandage.

Naruto looked at her carefully as she began to bandage up the wound. "Are you alright?" he asked gently. Sakura looked up at him. "I mean, you haven't been your usual happy self lately, is it something I said?"

Sakura smiled at his observation, but decided against telling him of her plan to give up completely. "I'm ok, just tired." She fibbed, pinning the bandage in place around his leg.

He stood up and stretched his leg, checking her handy work.

"Why were you in such a hurry?" Sakura asked, putting the rest of the bandage away and placing her bag on her back.

A white flag arose in Naruto's undeveloped brain. "SHIT! He's probably long gone by now!" He grabbed Sakura by the hand and ran forward.

"Where are we going?" Sakura yelled over the roaring wind in her ears.

"We're shadowing!" he said wickedly, a dark smile consuming his face. 

Soon Naruto stopped running and bent down over the rooftop to look at the ground. "Found him!"

Sakura looked down and saw, looking through the… _adult _books; Kakashi Hatake. "Oh no." Sakura groaned.

"I haven't quite caught him yet, but I'm sure Kakashi will reveal to me; the reasons for this 'day off'." Naruto whispered to Sakura. "I can feel it!"

"You really have nothing better to do, do you?" Sakura asked sarcastically, sitting up. She rolled her eyes and stood up. "Well, _I've_ got better things to do." She said, though, really; she had nothing to do.

"Hey! It's the Third Hokage!" Naruto suddenly announced. "What's he doing out here?"

Sakura lay down next to Naruto again, her interest in the situation now rising.

The Third Hokage approached Kakashi, who turned and listened attentively.

"Argh! I can't hear anything!" Naruto complained. He clapped his hands together in a hand-sign and winked to Sakura. "Come on!" He vanished in a puff of smoke, and reappeared on the verandah of a nearby shop. Sakura followed her teammate, soon landing beside him, now in earshot of the conversation between the Third Hokage and their sensei. 

"Kakashi, I require your assistance on a little matter." The Hokage said. "I need you to pick up and escort a new student from the Waste Villa to Konoha."

"What's the boy's name?" Kakashi asked calmly. 

"Kanashii Nodono, he's a distant relative of Iruka. He's starting his first years as a Genin here at Konoha."

"And you want squad 7 to bring him here?" Kakashi resolved.

"I knew it!" Naruto said, thumping his fist onto the textile verandah. "He want's us to rest up for a mission tomorrow!" He thumped the fabric again, this time his hand going right through. Sakura gave him a cold stare as the hole began to tare.

"I hate you."

They both yelled as the verandah gave way, crashing down on a closed noodle shop. Kakashi looked at them, not merely as surprised as them. Naruto smiled sheepishly. "Hello?"

The third Hokage shook his head at the two, then turned to Kakashi. "You begin tomorrow morning, have Kanashii here within 3 days of leave. Good luck." And with that he turned and left Kakashi to stare unimpressed at Naruto and Sakura.

Naruto groaned, trying to get up. "Can you help me out?"

Kakashi just looked at the two again, then turned and left.

Sakura's cheeks went bright red. "Thanks a lot Naruto! You've just humiliated me in front of my Sensei!" she yelled. "I'll never be able to look at him the same way again!" she added in and embarrassed mumble. She looked up at the sky. "Ah, well. It could be worse. At least Sasuke's not here to see me like this." She looked forwarded again, and almost died of a heart attack. Sasuke stood on the spot, looking at his two teammates among the remains of the noodle shop.

He looked at them briefly, before turning away. "…I don't wanna know."

Naruto groaned as he and Sakura were left alone. "I got chopsticks up my ass."

**Chap 1****- **Fin 


	2. The waste villa exposed

Hey Everybody!

I hope you all liked my first chapter; I sure had fun writing it!

Actually, there's a little inside joke in that one. The first part, the whole 'protecting the stick mission', my 2 fave cousins of all time and my little sister, one night all got high on god knows what and started playing 'Ninja' in the backyard. And we _loved _to fight with these long wooden sticks that were taller than us, so decided to have 2 of us 'protecting' this stick that stuck up out of the turf, and have the other two try to 'attack' it. I loved those times.

Of course if you love to read all different types of fan fict, you'll notice one Naruto and Hinata fan fict written by a "Sasuke", where she uses the same technique. Well guess what, she is my little sister.

Identical twin sister to be exact.

Although when it comes to Anime characters, she is a whole different story! She prefers the action side than the quiet and happy side like me. My friends and I give her nicknames like Inuyasha from Inuyasha Sasuke Uchiha from Naruto and "Satoru Tanomi" (Sa-tore-ru Ta-no-me) from the story me, her and my friends are writing together (again, we all need a life!). Satoru is a dark mean character, out for revenge and loves to pick on people.

Good god I've taken up a third of the page again?!

I'll need to work on this...

Before you read this chapter I must tell you how to say the names of the O.C (own characters) I've brought in. There's Kanashii Nodono (Ka-gnash-ee No-dough-no) and his mother Midore Nodono (Me-door- ray No-doe-no).

Well, here's the second chapter of "True confessions"; enjoy!

- True confessions –

Chapter 2: The Waste Villa - exposed

"Why couldn't you have just told us before?"

Kakashi rolled his eyes. "Naruto, you've been arguing this case since we left Konoha. Could you please _drop it?_"

Squad 7 had left on their mission to the Waste Villa 6 hours ago (they had to leave at noon because Naruto had slept in), the 7:00 sky looming above them; dark, cloudy and cold.

"Are we there yet?" Naruto complained, dragging his feet.

"Yes, it's just up there." Kakashi pointed.

Ahead, lit only by the dim, crescent moon; was a broken down village. More than one building had collapsed, plants had shriveled up and died years ago, crops and water supplies were exhausted by the taunting sun and the turf lay cracked and uneven.

"Can you call this a village?" Naruto said.

"It's horrible." Sakura said quietly, feeling sympathy for the villagers.

Suddenly a small voice called out to them from the edge of the Village.

"Hey! Over here!"

A 6 year old boy ran over to squad 7 and stood tall, smiling in the faint moonlight. "Hi! My name is Kanashii Nodono. Are you from the village hidden in the leaves; Konoha?"

Sakura smiled at this little boy's enthusiasm.

"Yes we are. I'm Kakashi Hatake, and these here, are my students." Kakashi replied.

Sakura smiled, Naruto gave him the thumbs up and Sasuke kept his hands in his pockets and a frown on his face.

"My mum says you're free to come have dinner with us! We have spare beds for you too!" Kanashii said, pointing towards the Village.

"We would love that." Kakashi said, his eye closing in the form of a smile.

Kanashii smiled, skipping the way up the path to a medium sized house; paint pealing off, and doors creaking on worn-out hinges. Kanashii ran inside into the light, announcing to his mother that 'The ninjas are here!'

A woman, about in her late twenties, came out from the kitchen holding a tattered old tea towel. She had a tattered dress and long silky brown hair that slung over one shoulder in a ponytail. "Hello and welcome. My name is Midore Nodono."

"Pleased to meet you. I'm Kakashi Hatake." Kakashi smiled, then motioned to Naruto, who smiled like an idiot; "This is Naruto Uzumaki", then Kakashi pointed to Sakura, who smiled sweetly; "This is Sakura Haruno.", then Kakashi's hand waved over to Sasuke, who still stood with his hands in his pockets and an un-amused look on upon his pale face; "And this is Sasuke Uchiha."

Kakashi took a deep breath, continuing the intro; "We have been assigned personally by the third Hokage to escort your son safely to Konoha for his schooling in the ninja academe."

"Well I'm very happy to know that my boy is in good hands." Midore smiled. "I hope you're planning to stay the night" she added, slinging the tea towel over her shoulder; "I've made enough dinner for at least 7 families!"

Naruto's eyes lit up at this.

"Yes, well. We would have been here and back by now… if it weren't for a certain_ someone_." Kakashi's cold-one eyed gaze fell upon the little blond boy next to him, who shrugged; "Hey, I like to sleep!"

"It looks… delicious."

Squad seven sat around the small table with the Nodonos, dinner set out neatly in front of each person.

The words of Mrs. Nodono floated back into Sakura's mind as she picked up her chopsticks;_ this was a meal big enough for 7 families?_

Everyone's meal consisted of one small steamed carrot, a tiny rare cooked slab of lamb, a pinch of rice and a glass of murky water.

"Do you grow these yourself?" Naruto asked, picking up the carrot and trying not to look disgusted how it slipped out of his grip and flopped back onto the plate.

"Yes, they're grown right here in the village; just across from the old shrine." She smiled, picking up the lamb. "And the livestock were raised here too."

The room fell into an awkward silence once again.

Sasuke and Sakura both had the same question on their minds, but dared not to ask it out of courtesy. But Naruto, not thinking of the consequences;

"Why is this village so torn up? Did a big war go on or something?"

Midore looked down at her plate, lowering her chopsticks; she had been expecting this.

"Kanashii, will you please leave the room for a moment?" she asked softly.

Kanashii nodded and got up from his empty plate and turned to leave. As he did, Sakura noticed a large jet black slash on the back of his neck and trailing down to the side of his left shoulder.

"I'll bet you'll want to know about what happened to Kanashii too, huh?" Midore asked, noticing Sakura's look of concern towards the boy.

"It was 4 years ago… Kanashii was only 2 at the time.

Drake, his father, was alive at the time too… a modest man he was; always going out of his way for the village's sake.

But one day… an outsider came to our home with a warning. She said that millions of warriors were headed this way, and that if this village was chosen for their overnight, or longer, stay; that it was as good as death for the entire village if refused.

Well, the warriors came in their millions, demanding food and shelter. But Drake refused, said that there was no room and that they should move on elsewhere.

As you can guess, that didn't sit well with the leader of the pack at all. He and his group of thugs tore up the place, killing many… Drake along with the few that decided to stand up and fight.

In the end the leader created a deal among the still living; claiming he and his men would come back every full moon and take an offering from us… if there was no offering… there was no village.

And he told us, that if anyone tried to leave the village… he would be hunted down and killed on the spot; no excuses whatsoever.

That's how Kanashii got the scar. He was too far out of the boundaries and the guards found him… luckily letting him off with just a warning."

She looked up now, a tinge of hope shining in her eyes.

"Please, I need you to see Kanashii to your village safely… and keep him so until such time when this is all over. Train him to be strong and able to protect himself… that is all I ask."

Kakashi nodded, standing up. "We gladly accept your offer and shall see to it that Kanashii is brought to our village safely."

Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura all nodded, agreeing.

Sakura closed up her bag and placed it next to her bed. She looked around the small room, where only she sat.

She stood up and exited the room, walking down the drafty hall, walking past Sasuke and Naruto's room where aggressive words were being shared.

She stopped at one room that had the door ajar, but not enough to see into. She pushed it open a little more, peering into the room. Inside sat Kanashii, on the only piece of furniture in the room, reading a book. His face was screwed up cutely in concentration.

Sakura opened the door and took a step in. "Hey, whacha doing?" she asked friendly.

Kanashii looked up, lowering the book. "I'm reading!"

"What are you reading?" she asked, sitting on the mattress next to him. Sakura giggled as she saw he was reading it upside-down.

"Here, let me help you." Sakura offered, taking the book and putting it the right way round. "It says; 'Ninja Jacks training'."

Kanashii looked up at Sakura in awe. "What else does it say?!"

Sakura read over the short story with the boy, him laughing at the funny pictures on each page.

"I wanna be a ninja one day!" Kanashii told Sakura as she closed the book. "I wanna learn to fight bad guys and win!"

Sakura smiled, but it only lasted a second; Kanashii's enthusiastic smile had turned to a look of defeat, his eyes recalling something.

"I wanna learn how to protect mummy... when the bad guys come and the big moon is out. I wanna be _strong_."

Sakura ruffled his hair. "Don't worry; we're here to help you achieve that dream."

Kanashii smiled in contentment. "Really?! Wow! I'm gonna be a ninja!"

Sakura left the bedroom and went outside to find the boys; they weren't in their rooms anymore.

"I hope they haven't killed each other." She worried, but couldn't help smiling all the same.

She took a deep breath and exhaled; the air was still warm from this afternoon.

She looked around for the boys, soon hearing Naruto's loud obnoxious voice.

"And what make you so sure I would lose?" Naruto argued, sounding absolutely outraged.

"Because you don't think about these things, you just rush ahead and get your ass kicked." Sasuke replied coolly; it almost sounded like he was enjoying the rise he was getting out of Naruto.

Sakura rolled her eyes and followed Naruto's loud voice, soon finding him around the back of the Nodono's house with Sasuke.

"I do _**not**_!" Naruto started yelling. "You just always get in the way and screw things up!"

Sakura came up behind Naruto who was standing over Sasuke, at full volume now. She hit him over the head with her fist not too hard, but not too soft either.

"Shut up, you'll wake the whole village." she said effortlessly, sitting in the dirt and looking out at the crescent moon.

"Oh," Naruto complied, remembering that he wasn't the only one here.

Sakura rested her back on the wall behind her, trying not to make eye contact with Sasuke or else she might do or say something embarrassing. She took her flower pendant into her fingers, rolling it around idly while looking up at the silvery moon.

"How's Kanashii?" Naruto asked, hoping to get a conversation between him and Sakura happening.

"He's gone to bed." Sakura replied plainly.

She pulled her legs up to her chest and rested her chin upon her knees. "We have to help him... at all costs!" she said, making both Naruto and Sasuke look up at her. "He... he told me some things... why he wants to become a ninja. And I want to help him become the best ninja Konoha as ever seen!"

Naruto snorted. "Maybe the 2nd best."

Sakura smiled up at the moon. "Yeah, you're right. Kakashi _is_ pretty hard to beat."

Naruto gnashed his teeth. "I can beat him! Any day, anytime!"

"Yeah... right." Sakura said, stretching her legs out again.

Off in the distance, Naruto's volume-rising voice entered the ears of three anonymous men, hidden in the trees just beyond the waste villas boundary.

"That's them, huh?" a deep, hair-raising voice sniffed.

"And they aint alone either, they have some sortta teacher with them." replied a calm shrewd voice.

The sound of Midore Nodono calling the three teens inside sounded, along with the replies of two of them.

"Orders were no one leaves the village." a third dangerous voice said, chuckling lightly. "But there were no rules about visitors..."

His eyes flashed dangerously in the moonlight. "Let's have some fun."

**Chap 2**Fin


	3. Valediction and Renounce

Hello again!

If you've read this far and still kept interest I must be doing a good job!

Now I have thanks to give out to someone. Coincidental once again, she is my best friend and -like- the mother of fan fictions in my group; writing almost two a day!! On this site she goes by the name of "Kronoshevan", and again, there is a funny reason to that name too, but I'll get to that later. I wanna thank her for introducing me and my twin sister to the wonderful world of Anime and Manga (plus the all exciting world of fan fict!); if it weren't for you, I might have been stuck in the real world like a regular person... Sinful! (Heh, just joking!).

Anyway, about her name; like my sister and me, she was given an anime nickname from a favorite anime or manga. Her nicknames are; Edward Elric from Fullmetal Alchemist (because she's short!), Sesshomaru from Inuyasha, Itachi Uchiha from Naruto and Chrono from Chrono Crusade. Her site name comes from her nickname Chrono, but is spelt differently because we've mixed her first name into it (Kaitlyn). 3

Oh, and just as a little something to help you; this entire story is _**before**_ squad 7 met Zabuza. So they haven't met Zabuza or Haku yet (you'll understand when you read this chapter…!). And as a little helper on names, 3 characters pop into our story (O.C's); Suzume-gin (pronounced; Sue-zoo-me-jin), Ryoko-sha (Rio-ko-sha) and Yakima-su (Ya-ki-ma-sue).

Well, trying not to waste anymore of your precious story reading time (or my writing space!!) I give you; True Confessions- chapter 3; Valediction and renounce!!

- True confessions –

Chapter 3: Valediction and Renounce

"Bye mummy!"

Midore knelt down and hugged her boy, tears of both joy and sorrow staining her cheeks.

"I'll always love you my son." she said into his ear. "Never forget that. I'll wait for your safe return in years to come... when you've become a man. Make me proud"

She let him go and stood back as he join squad 7 at Sakura's side.

"Well, let's head off shall we?" Kakashi asked, giving every one the go to start the journey home.

"Bye mum!" Kanashii called, waving ecstatically until his mother was out of sight. "Bye!"

The forest thickened around the party as they left the dead lands of the Waste villa behind.

Kanashii suddenly slowed down to a stroll, a worried look on his face as he studied the ground.

"What is it Kanashii?" Sakura asked, slowing to his pace.

"This is as far as mummy said I could normally go..."

He looked frantically about the tree tops, almost expecting some one to jump out and slice off the first toe that stepped over the boundary.

Sakura placed a comforting hand on the boys shoulder. "We're here to protect you. No ones going to hurt you while we're here."

She gave him a little wink and took a big step forward, showing him it was ok.

He smiled and took a big step forward too, happy with his achievement.

"Sakura, Kanashii; keep up the pace." Kakashi called from the front, not looking back.

Kanashii grabbed a hold of Sakura's hand and ran forward with her till they were just behind Naruto, who looked back and frowned at the position Kanashii's hand was in ('How come _he_ can get away with it?').

Kanashii smiled innocently up at Naruto, who pulled a sour face at him. "Are you Sakura's boyfriend?" Kanashii asked, coking his head to one side.

Naruto's cheeks went pink, his gaze going from the questioning face of the little boy, to the hard glare of Sakura. "Uh, no. Just friends." He said, rubbing the back of his neck, laughing.

"Oh." Kanashii said, looking to the ground for a moment, then let go of Sakura's hand and ran up to Sasuke, tugging the hem of his shirt. "Are _you_ Sakura's boyfriend?"

Sakura's heart froze, her cheeks going fluorescent red.

Sasuke looked at the boy briefly, then brushed him off and walked further to the front.

Kanashii blinked at the boy, turned back to Sakura and asked; "Why is he so grumpy?"

Sakura giggled, taking the boys hand again. "He's always like that, don't take it too personally."

"My mum told me about people who are always grumpy." Kanashii said to her, scratching his head to remember. "She said they were called… emo's"

Sasuke's eyes turned to daggers that were shot at Kanashii's direction, though he didn't notice them as for he was watching Naruto who was laughing hysterically.

"Owned!" he yelled, pointing to Sasuke whose fists pulsed with a desire for fox blood.

Naruto suddenly stopped laughing and grabbed his left cheek. "Ow!"

He removed his hand to reveal a deep cut that had already started to bleed. "What the..?" He looked to the ground and saw a kunai stained with his blood… a paper tag attached to the handle…

"Bomb Kunai!" He yelled, pushing Sakura and Kanashii back as the bomb exploded. Naruto jumped up, rounding on Sasuke. "Hey! That was a little overboard, don't cha think?!" he yelled.

"That wasn't me, you idiot." Sasuke growled, pulling out a kunai. "The boundary guards… they've found us."

"Manji formation! Protect the kid!" Kakashi yelled, scanning the forest.

Sasuke, Naruto and Sakura all stood around Kanashii, kunai in hand and eyes on the lookout.

"What's happening?" Kanashii asked anxiously from inside the circle, tugging at the back of Sakura's red Kimono.

"We just have a little setback, but don't you worry; just stay behind us and we'll protect you." She winked, trying to comfort the boy. He nodded, still quite frightened, but stayed ever so close to Sakura.

"What I wanna know is; why they allowed us to enter the village."Sasuke said, griping the kunai in his hand. "If no one was allowed to leave… why would anyone be allowed access in?"

"Simple really." Sounded a deep, petrifying voice.

A male figure jumped out of the canopy of a nearby tree and crouched on a branch, swinging a kunai around his finger.

"Orders were to kill _villagers _that left… there was nothing about outsiders." He smirked, his tongue tracing the sharp object, his eyes seeking his next victim. "Suzume-gin" he introduced, standing tall then bowing, his short silver hair flowing over his shoulders. "You're day of reckoning..." His silver eyes shot up, drilling into that of Kanashii's. "…in the flesh."

Two more males jumped from the trees and landed at the base of the tree that Suzume-gin stood upon, both with unfriendly figures. One was bulk and immense, the other slim with a slash over his left eye.

"Ryoko-sha, Yakima-su! Let's have some fun." Suzume-gin smirked, jumping down and joining his team on the ground.

Kakashi stood in front of his pupils and faced the enemy, arms folded and his visible eye closed. "You're in the way."

"Why don't cha do something about it then?" Ryoko-sha mocked, smirking.

Suzume-gin held his hand up delicately, silencing his companion. "I'll handle this one, the rest; is yours."

The two associates smirked, accepting the proposal offered. "Anyone in particular?" Ryoko-sha addressed Yakima-su, his good eye inspecting the ring of teens.

"The emo kid," he said, flexing his bulky arm muscles. "For his idiotic question earlier."

Sasuke growled, not only because that word was used once again against his name. "Bring it on, baka" he remarked darkly, lowering into his fighting stance, kunai gleaming in the sunlight above.

Naruto chuckled quietly as he could feel Sasuke's chakra boiling. "Owned!"

Suzume-gin brought his hands together, swiftly displaying hand signs while muttering the names of. "Earth style; Lightning glove jujitsu!"

Suzume-gin ran forward at Kakashi, his right fist blazing in a mass of lightning bolts. He reached Kakashi and swung at him, Kakashi dodging it barely. Suzume-gin brought his hands together again and trusted them in Kakashi's direction, bolts of lightning grabbing his ankles and pulling him to the ground with a thud.

Yakima-su and Ryoko-sha ran around the fight and in the direction of Sasuke, Sakura and Naruto. Yakima-su threw shuriken, which Sasuke deflected, then collided his kunai against the dark haired teens, pushing hard. "Come on kid, show me what you got!"

Ryoko-sha took aim at Sakura, though Naruto deflected and blocked his path. "You gotta go through me first!" he snarled, jabbing his chest with his thumb proudly. "Sakura," he added on a lower note, the back of his head facing the kunoichi. "Stay here and protect the kid." And with that he dashed forward and collided kunai with Ryoko-sha.

Deep down inside Sakura longed to tell him she wanted to help fight; that she could defend for herself, but then Kanashii would be unprotected and in danger.

Kanashii gripped the hip of Sakura's dress tightly, hiding his face from behind her; Sakura could feel from the way his hands were shaking that he was utterly terrified.

"Really, I though highly of you, Hatake Kakashi." Suzume-gin mocked as he looked down at Kakashi. "But clearly the bar has been set too high."

"Don't get too cocky." came Kakashi's voice from behind.

The Kakashi that Suzume-gin had grabbed with his 'lightning glove' jujitsu disappeared in a cloud of white smoke before Suzume-gins very eyes. "The Shadow clone jujitsu?!"

"So, you're not as dumb as you look." Kakashi mocked from behind, holding a kunai to his opponent's neck.

Yakima-su smirked as Sasuke continued to push back on his kunai.

"You're gonna pay for that 'emo' remark." Sasuke spat, pushing forward.

Yakima-su sneered. "You have the words… let's see if you can back them up."

He removed one hand from his kunai, still keeping the struggle in his favor, and used his free hand to make hand sings.

"What?!" Sasuke gasped, as Yakima-su continued.

"Earth style! Iron paw jujitsu!"

Sasuke's force on Yakima-su's kunai weakened as Yakima-su's fist placed Sasuke's neck in an iron-vice grip.

Sasuke grunted painfully as Yakima-su pushed harder on his kunai. He quickly glanced at Sasuke's headband, laughing as he spotted the leaf symbol. "Ha! A Konoha genin? And here I was hoping you'd make it interesting for me!" He teased, laughing out loud. Sasuke's eyebrows lowered dangerously, a frown upon his features.

"Looks can be deceiving cant they?!" Yakima-su laughed cruelly, shaking Sasuke lightly by the neck.

Placing his right leg in a firm position on the ground, Sasuke brought his left knee into Yakima-su's stomach with full force, making him drop his hand that held the kunai to hold his stomach. Sasuke then slashed at Yakima-su's arm that immediately let go of his neck.

"Couldn't agree more." Sasuke smirked, placing his feet in a firm position as Yakima-su looked up at him. "Why you little..!"

Ryoko-sha moved back as Naruto slashed wildly in attempt to hit him.

"Are you even trying?" Ryoko-sha asked critically as he dodged Naruto, cutting him on the shoulder as he landed behind him.

"I think I'd get a better game if I fought the girl." He sighed, looking unimpressed.

Naruto turned slowly, fire in his eyes. "You'll pay for that one, on both my, and Sakura's view." He spoke darkly, fully facing him now.

"Take your best shot." Ryoko-sha spoke, grinning evilly.

Naruto's hands slapped together, almost too fast to see. "Shadow clone jujitsu!"

Ryoko-sha didn't even flinch as 5 Naruto's ran at him, each with fire in their eyes. He used but one arm to deflect the Naruto's, only when he took a shot at the real Naruto did he put effort into it.

"I stand by what I said." He remarked flatly, watching as Naruto held the bleeding cut on his stomach.

Naruto smirked. "Is that so?"

Ryoko-sha's calm expression became confusion as he followed Naruto's gaze, seeing a circle of bomb kunai placed around his feet. "What?!"

He jumped just in time to avoid the blast, but jumped in range of Naruto's second attack from above. Ryoko-sha brought his arm in front of his chest to stop the kunai from piercing his heart, though it did quite some damage to his arm.

Ryoko-sha landed on the ground, ripping out the kunai in anger.

Naruto landed firmly on two feet and took a step back as Ryoko-sha threw the blade at his feet. Naruto knocked into some-one behind him and was about to turn and attack the enemy when they spoke; "Watch it looser!"

Naruto sighed in relief, it was just Sasuke. They both moved into their fighting stance as their opponents bunched their fists, ready to fight.

Sakura flinched slightly as shuriken landed not too far from her position, thrown by Ryoko-sha and deflected by Naruto.

Sakura winced as she watched the fight ahead, Naruto receiving a punch to the face, Sasuke just ducking a kick from Yakima-su.

"Is it over yet?" Kanashii asked from behind, his face hidden out of fear.

"Not yet." Sakura said, not as calmly as before though.

"Give up. You've lost." Kakashi advised, his kunai resting threateningly upon Suzume-gin's neck.

Suzume-gin chuckled darkly. "Not quite yet."

Kakashi only had enough time to take a quick glance at Suzume-gin's hands to see that he had formed a hand sign. "No!"

"Ninja art! White light Jujitsu!" Suzume-gin yelled, raising his palms so Kakashi could catch the full blast of the blinding white light illuminated therein.

Kakashi dropped the kunai and reached for his visible eye that had been temporally blinded.

Suzume-gin took this chance to escape Kakashi's reach, heading in the direction of Sakura and Kanashii.

Sakura watched in slow motion as he sped her way, his hand reaching inside his weapon pouch…

"Sakura!!" Sasuke yelled, dashing to the pink haired kunoichi.

Suzume-gin jumped back as Sasuke stood in front of Sakura, a kunai shown clearly.

"Sakura, are you OK?" Sasuke asked with his back to her.

"Yeah," she replied, holding her arm that held proof that the enemy had struck. "It's just a scratch."

"And Kanashii?" he asked, frowning darkly at Suzume-gin as he smirked from his place ahead.

Sakura looked back and saw the little boy on the ground, shaking, but unharmed nonetheless.

"He's ok." She reassured, turning back to Sasuke.

"Quite done?" Suzume-gin asked, his silvery hair swaying about in the breeze.

"You're gonna wish that blade never touched her." Sasuke said darkly, his eyes going hard.

Suzume-gin licked the blood covered kunai, tasting Sakura's blood. "And you're the one who's gonna make me?" he mocked.

Sasuke ran at Suzume-gin, throwing shuriken which the enemy dodged easily. Sasuke then smashed his hands together; "Horse! Tiger! Fire style; FIRE BALL JUITSU!"

Suzume-gin jumped here and there, dodging the flame attack that came from the boy's mouth. He threw bomb kunai, and dashed past as they exploded in a cloud of grey smoke. Suzume-gin rushed for Sakura and Kanashii, but Sasuke, who had dodged the explosion, cut him off and sent him flying back with a forceful kick to the stomach.

"This could be harder than I thought…" Suzume-gin mumbled to himself as he stood up from the ground, wiping the trickle of blood from his mouth.

Yakima-su and Ryoko-sha both turned on Naruto, who was about to go and help his two teammates.

"Hey! That's cheating!" Naruto yelled, as he dodged an attack from Ryoko-sha only to jump into Yakima-su's trap.

He grunted as he landed on the ground, pulling the kunai from the arm that he had thrown up in defense. "Hey, the more the merrier!" Naruto growled, smirking as 7 shadow clones appeared at his side and rushed at the adversary.

Ryoko-sha knocked back three clones with kunai and ran at Naruto, ramming a fist into his jaw.

Naruto crouched on the ground and sprung into Ryoko-sha's stomach, winding him slightly and pushing him back. Naruto crouched down again, regaining his breath as Ryoko-sha and Yakima-su defeated the last of the clones and stood before him. He was running out of Chakra… and energy; he didn't know how much longer he would last.

'Come on!' he told himself, standing up. 'Sakura and Sasuke are counting on you! Don't give up now!'

Naruto growled fiercely, clenching his fists to motivate himself. "I won't give up! BELIEVE IT!" He yelled, his motivation hitting its highest point; this could be his last burst of energy, he had to use it well!

He ran at Yakima-su, who threw an effortless kunai at the boy who changed into a log. Yakima-su gasped, looking frantically until he heard the obnoxious voice from behind. He and Ryoko-sha turned just in time to see Naruto's displayed hand sign; " TRANSFORM!"

The two associates gapped then fell back with a stream of blood seeping from the nose as a beautiful female Naruto, wearing almost nothing, stood before them.

Naruto winked, blowing the boys a kiss. "You know you want me…!"

Ryoko-sha and Yakima-su jumped up, steam of rage whistling out their ears, "Why you little…!"

Suzume-gin Jumped back as Sasuke's fire ball jujitsu flew his way again.

"You're not concentrating." Sasuke called through the last of the flames, looking around for the foe. He looked back to check that he was a fair distance from Sakura and Kanashii; so they wouldn't get involved into the fight.

"You're one to talk" Suzume-gin said sarcastically. Sasuke's head whipped forward to see Suzume-gin right in front of him. "Now a move like that… could get you killed." he teased, jumping back as Sasuke went to swipe at him with the kunai his hand griped firmly.

"I've become quite tired of you." Suzume-gin said, slipping his hand into his pocket.

Sasuke growled, strengthening his stance.

Suzume-gin rushed forward, throwing a kunai at Sasuke who dodged easily. As Sasuke dodged Suzume-gin threw something that whizzed past Sasuke's ear, missing him only just.

Sasuke smirked. "You missed."

"Who said I did?" Suzume gin grinned evilly, looking beyond Sasuke's eyes that were open wide in fear as his assumption was answered…

**There was a ****scream**

Sasuke spun around to see Sakura with her side to him… two senbon needles sticking out of her bleeding neck.

Kanashii lay sprawled out and unconscious near a rock on Sakura's other side, clearly been pushed out of the way.

Sakura's head turned slowly to face Sasuke; Sasuke could see sun soaked tears escaping her eyes.

Sakura's mouth moved, a soft wavering voice full of fear and renounce following; "Sasuke… I'm… sorry…"

"**NO!**" Sasuke ran to Sakura as her body fell limp and collapsed, the words 'I was too late' ringing in his mind.

Naruto's head looked in the direction of Sasuke, his eyes resting uncomfortably on the unfolding scene. "SAKURA…!"

Sasuke reached the kunoichi, skidding to his knees… extracting the needles delicately from her neck. His hands searched frantically for a pulse among the blood on her neck… though none could be found. "No…"

Kakashi looked up, his era of blindness now up. Nothing could describe his feeling the moment his eye fell upon Sakura's cold body; he had failed as a teacher… and lost a precious joy of life.

Naruto fought back tears of anguish and heartbreak; how did it come to this?

Suzume-gin smirked from his place ahead of Sasuke, who still held the lifeless shell in his arms. "I seem to have struck a nerve."

Three pairs of eyes, all full of rage and hatred shot to the rival who killed the young kunoichi, one single word shared among their thoughts; Revenge

**Chap 3**Fin


	4. Incitement to the Grave

Hello all Haku-hating fans!! (Just joking!)

My god that last chapter was long! I blame school for how long it took to write! (But I'm happy with it.)

Just as a little out-of-the-blue-fact, the 'Bad guys' names are actually Japanese words I found in my dictionary.

Suzume-gin means "Silver sparrow" (hence his silver hair), Yakima-su means "broil it" or "riot" (hence his bulk and immense figure) and Ryoko-sha means "Traveler" (…I like the way it sounded ).

Our time has run short! Chapter 4 is officially my last one!! (I think I'll start crying soon…)

Well I hope you all enjoyed reading this fan fiction as much as I enjoyed writing it!

I'll just warn you now… I suck at battle scenes… so… don't be disappointed! I'm sorry!!

Well, I hope you enjoy the last chapter of True confessions… I thank you for reading this far!

Well here it is; True confessions chapter 4: Incitement to the grave (I think I enjoy making up the chapter titles more than the story…!).

Tsukiai Ujigami.

--

-True confessions -

Chapter 4: Incitement to the grave.

Sasuke laid Sakura's body on the ground, standing up and slowly facing Suzume-gin. "_Unforgivable_." he voiced, venom dripping from each riled word.

Suzume-gin's eyebrows raised in amusement. "Its too bad… she could have spared her life if she'd not jumped in the way."

Naruto quaked with rage as Suzume-gin began to laugh; "Your attachment to the girl is futile; a mere _weakness_."

Sasuke and Naruto both growled savagely, running at the murder.

Naruto was cut off by Yakima-su and Ryoko-sha who both now had the intentions to kill him; playtime was over. Yakima-su went head on at the fox, who forcefully threw a punch to his jaw that missed only just. Yakima-su dashed back to his companion, handing him a kunai covered in the boy's blood; Naruto hadn't even noticed the blade had touched him… his body was beyond pain.

Ryoko-sha pulled out a scroll, pointing the kunai down and allowing a drop of crimson blood to drench the parchment. Dropping the kunai, the scroll was rolled up and place between Ryoko-sha's hands; "Ninja art; PHANTOM FLAME JUTSU!!"

Naruto stopped dead in his tracks as if someone were holding him back. He looked down and saw a pair of sinister violet hands, with dark black outline of overflowing chakra; grasping his feet from beneath the ground. The hands pulled themselves up, a body with no legs came floating out of the ground and floated in front of the fox. Though the hands were now removed from his feet, Naruto still remained immobile. The creature had chakra flowing over its body like deep-purple flames licking hungrily at wood.

The creature moved forward, searing hot pain coming over Naruto's skin as the creature entered his body. He screamed as his skin seemed to burn all over.

"My Phantom Flame Jutsu." Ryoko-sha smiled, watching as the paralysation wore off and Naruto fell to his knees in agony. "A spirit of fire is called from the depths of hell and possesses the body of the subject in question… in this case… you."

Naruto groaned as began to loose feeling in his legs that refused to follow his demands…

Sasuke rushed forward, his sharringan blazing up to full power.

"Ah, I see we have a little Uchiha here!" Suzume-gin mocked. "I believed they'd _all _been slaughtered. But, can't always trust what you hear on the streets, huh?"

Sasuke threw a kunai, which Suzume-gin dodged. Sasuke threw another kunai, which Suzume-gin dodged again.

"Are you even trying?" he smirked, dodging another kunai.

Sasuke reached into his backpack, pulling out 3 demon wind shuriken. He threw the blades forward with great force, Suzume-gin dodging them only just.

"My condolences" Suzume-gin sighed, disappointed.

Sasuke smirked as strings of chakra became visible in the trail of the windmill shuriken; the ends held firmly by his hands and in between his teeth.

He pulled his head back and lifted his left hand, sending the shuriken in his desired direction around the trees in a tangle of thread.

Suzume-gin grunted as the strings were pulled tight, pinning his form to a tree behind. Sasuke flashed hand signs at the bound male, yelling furiously; "Fire style; **DRAGON FLAME JUTSU**!"

A red hot blaze of fire screamed its way alone the lines of Chakra, engulfing Suzume-gin's body with flames of hate. The foe screamed out in pain as the flames ate away at his flesh.

Sasuke did not smile, but felt an overwhelming flush of inclusive revenge rolling off his heart as he watched this demon burn to death.

"Heaven has no place for you…" Sasuke said darkly. "… and neither does Hell."

"_Is that right..?"_

Sasuke gasped as the creature in the flames substituted with a log.

"You're weak… Sasuke Uchiha." Suzume-gin glowered, roughly pushing the boy against a tree behind, clasping his throat tight. "…and you have lost."

Suzume-gins pointer and middle fingers were placed upon Sasuke's forehead, cold chakra seeping through into the boy's very skull. The villain laughed as he pulled his fingers away, Sasuke's hands clutching his head as he fell to his knees, shrieking in pain; something seemed to be squeezing at his brains and pulsing throughout his cranium.

Suzume-gin began to laugh as he saw Naruto, kneeling on the ground at Ryoko-sha's feet. "This squad is pathetic." he humored, pulling out a kunai.

He continued to smile as Kakashi lunged at him from behind, dodging him and motioning out to Ryoko-sha, who caught the kunai now stained with the Jonin's blood; "PHANTOM FLAME JUTSU!"

Suzume-gin looked around at Sasuke, Naruto and Kakashi, walking over to the lifeless body that was Sakura. "Does she not mean anything to you?" he teased, standing over the corpse.

Kakashi frowned at his immobile state, a pin-prick sensation running all over his form.

Suzume-gin leaned over Sakura's frame, reaching to her chest.

"**Don't touch her!"** Naruto yelled from his place at the back, his body still fighting off the jutsu.

Suzume-gin traced his fingers down Sakura's cheek, stopping at the meeting point of her collar, just above her chest. His hand griped something, tugged and pulled away from the cadaver. "Ah, a prosperity charm." he humored, turning the pendant over in his hand. "Had she spent more time practicing and not spending… she mightn't have been killed."

"**HOW DARE YOU!**" Naruto yelled, eyes burning with fury. "How can you talk like you know her?! Sakura was a hard worker; never gave up! WHO ARE YOU TO CRITICIZE HER…?! TO EVEN **TOUCH** HER?!"

Ryoko-sha took a step back as Naruto's left arm began to move, slowly but surely. Sweat poured down his face as he demanded control over his body again.

Kakashi did the same, his movements more precise and under control.

Sasuke slowly lifted his head, though the pounding did not stop.

The Fiery Phantoms were pushed out of Kakashi and Naruto's figures, fizzling as if put out with water.

Kakashi, Naruto and Sasuke all stood in a line, facing Suzume-gin who still stood over Sakura's lifeless body, each pair of eyes burning with rage.

"You've crossed the line Suzume-gin." Kakashi growled. "And now you're gonna pay for it."

"Believe it!" Naruto yelled angrily.

Sasuke growled, strengthening his stance. "You're _dead_."

_"What's going on…? Where am…I…?"_

_Black faded into a misty white field, beyond 1 meter disappearing into the cloud of white. _

_Sakura was standing amongst the fallen clouds, a light breeze playing with her hair._

_"Sasuke…? Naruto… Kakashi…?" she called lightly, walking forward cautiously. _

_She shrieked as her foot fell through the air, her figure falling forward to on her hands and knees, leaning on what looked to be a sheet of glass. The fog thinned out and revealed behind the glass, a picture… a memory: Sasuke, Naruto, Kakashi and her, all together, at the ramen shop... happily eating together. Naruto sat stuffing his face like usual, Sasuke giving him a glare and eating his own with proper manners. And Kakashi… ha, already finished his… reading his book quite happily. And Sakura herself… smiling… laughing with (or at) Naruto, Sasuke even smiles slightly, and Kakashi peeps over his book, also smiling._

_Sakura looked down on this scene, knowing perfectly well where she was… what had happened; she was dead. A tear fell upon the glass sheet on which she leaned on… she was not ready to die. The scene before her… reminded her of all the good times she had spent with her team. Who cares if she was useless during a fight? So what, she made up for it in the end… pushing the others along… keeping the peace among the squad… always there to listen… _

_Another tear fell to the glass as her form began to shake. "I'm not ready to die…" she wailed, her voice sounding distant and weak. "I am not ready to give up..! I… have friends… who need me… and I need them."_

_The scene below her hands fogged up again, the sheet of glass dispersing into thick blades of grass. Sakura's body fell onto the grass, rolling onto her back; her hair tangling with the green of the pasture. She was not going to give up… there was still plenty of time to improve… and there were too many things to leave behind._

_Slowly, Sakura's body sunk into the grass, like a foot in quick- sand. The grass swallowed her up, jet black replacing the misty white of the field before._

_Within the darkness, she heard something… a distressed voice…_

_She felt a warm presence upon her, around her neck and all down to the pit of her stomach; the side of her face the warmest point._

_With all of her might, she lifted her eyelids to a bright world orange; both warm and southing. _

_Her aqua green eyes searched about soon recognizing the orange that surrounded her sight. "Naruto…?"_

Naruto gasped as he saw that Sakura, who lay in his arms and upon his lap, had her eyes open weakly…

"Sakura!"

Kakashi and Sasuke looked over from their place among the shrubs, the evidence concealed within...

"Sakura's alive! Sakura's alive!!" Naruto exclaimed excitedly.

Sakura blinked weakly, her neck stiff and her body bruised up good…

She felt safe… next to Naruto. Normally she would have jumped up in fright, punching Naruto out in one second flat, but just this once… she didn't mind being so close to him… having the comforting awareness of his arms holding her tight.

Kakashi came over, bending down next to the kunoichi and smiling. "Welcome back."

Sasuke, oblivious to all but Sakura who quickly glanced over to claim him alive, smiled and hunched over slightly… almost like he was sighing in relief.

"What… happened to Kanashii…?" Sakura asked weakly, wincing at how much it hurt to talk right now.

"He's fine, he's just sleeping." Kakashi smiled.

"…and the… enemy…?"

The smile faded slightly from Kakashi's face, but not enough for Sakura to notice. "They're all… '_taken care of'._ You don't need to worry about them, they can't harm you any longer." Kakashi reassured.

Sakura had a sneaking suspicion that they didn't just kill these imposters; they destroyed them, but she didn't question, as for Sasuke had come over.

Sasuke bent down next to her figure, a tinge of pink across his cheeks. "Hey… this is yours." He held up her necklace, the one she had bought before this mission… the one Suzume-gin had obliviously to her, taken from her lifeless neck.

She smiled weakly as Naruto took it and placed it around her neck for her (since Sasuke would not).

"Kakashi sensei, how did Sakura survive?" Naruto asked, looking up with the innocent face that so often explained his stupidity.

"Senbon needles." Kakashi replied simply, standing up and looking to the needles that Sasuke had pulled out earlier. "If used correctly can simulate death; stop the heartbeat for an amount of time." he looked to Sakura. "Though leaves the body sore and useless for at least a week or two."

Sakura smiled; it didn't matter. The fact was that she was alive… and she was willing to give life another go.

- 3 weeks later-

Kanashii was safely taken to Iruka, where the boy began his training as a young academy student of Konoha under his watchful eye.

Sakura was taken to hospital for proper treatment, with many visits from her parents, Naruto and Kakashi and rarely ever Sasuke.

As a promise from Kakashi; as soon as Sakura was free from the hospital and fully recovered, he would take her and the boys out to ramen; his buy.

Naruto attacked his 4th helping of the night to Sakura's left, Sasuke eying him from the next chair over with deep disapproving annoyance as he gallantly ate his first bowl quietly, and Kakashi, finished his first and second helping already, sat concealed behind 'Make out paradise' next to Sakura on her right.

Kakashi suddenly raised his glass. "To Sakura and her safe recovery; we could have never have finished that last mission without you."

"Without her, we just wouldn't be squad 7!" Naruto cheered, raising his glass too. Sasuke smirked, raising his glass slightly but not joining as Kakashi, Sakura and Naruto all clinked glasses.

Sakura couldn't help but smile as Naruto and Sasuke began bickering like they always did on occasions like this, this time Naruto claiming that Sasuke 'Did not agree' because he hadn't taken a drink before he had placed down his cup. She simply looked up to the sky behind her; full of the 7:00 stars and the silver crescent moon; she would have life no other way, than to be sitting here with her team mates.

--

True confessions

- Fin -

By


End file.
